The quest for Lord Stanley is on, and the Philadelphia Flyers are hitting the ground at full steam. They have not hoisted the Cup in forty-five years, and have not won a playoff series since 2012. Friday night, they defeated the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 3-2, and have officially advanced to the second round. Not only are they heading to the second round, but they are the No. 1 seed. They will square off against the No. 6 seed, New York Islanders in round two.
While every game is a team effort, there are always stand out players. In this case, that player is their goalie, Carter Hart. The Flyers have a long history of elite goaltenders, but ever since 1985, it has been a struggle, and almost comical at times. During the 2018-2019 season, they called up Carter Hart. Since then, he has been viewed as the answer to their goaltending problems. While his performance in the playoffs has not gone without trouble, it has gone incredibly well. Hart was pulled from Game 2 after allowing four goals, and things were looking a bit bleak. Following up that performance, Hart posted two consecutive shutouts. In Game 5, Hart was almost pulled once again after allowing 4 goals, but the Flyers challenged one for offsides and won. The goal was overturned, and Hart stayed in. The Flyers went on to lose that game, but once again, Hart bounced back.
Friday night, Hart made 31 saves on 33 shots. Backing him up was Kevin Hayes, who had a goal and an assist. Michael Raffl and Ivan Provorov also scored to help propel the Flyers to victory. Provorov wasted no time in getting the Flyers on the board, scoring 28 seconds into the first period. Hayes followed him up at 5:23 with the second goal of the night, and while the Canadians made a valiant effort, they could not overcome the deficit. The Flyers look good, but the Islanders will not go down without a fight. After putting down the Washington Capitals in 5 games, the Islanders are riding considerable momentum into round two, but the Flyers seem to be up for the challenge.
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